Govt urged to help lower costs rather than freeze prices
The country's energy authorities have postponed two scheduled price increases, while Saha Pathanapibul, one of the Kingdom's largest produc?ers of consumer goods, has called on the government to work on reducing the cost of energy and raw materials rather
Boonchai Chokewattana, presi?dent of the company, said yesterday that the firm was looking at raising prices of both food and non-food products by the end of the current sec?ond quarter because of higher pro?duction and logistics costs.
“The government’s price controls will only be effective for the short term and create only a psychological impact on the market,” he said.
One major product of the compa?ny is Mama instant noodles.
While the Energy Policy Administrative Committee has decid?ed to delay fuel-price hikes, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) yes?terday resolved to delay an increase in the fuel tariff by a month to help ease energy costs. The 30-satang-per-unit increase for the May-August round would take effect in June, below the actual fuel costs. ERC chairman Direk Lavansiri said that despite the increase, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand still has to shoulder a cost of Bt14 billion. This could be factored into the calculation for the tariff for the September-December round, the chairman said.
Boonchai said the rising cost of labour and diesel fuel had had a huge impact on manufacturers. The gov?ernment should help curb the cost of living by reducing fuel prices rather than focusing on price controls, he said. He added that consumers’ con?cerns about high prices had led to a drop in sales of the company’s prod?ucts.
Kan Trakulhoon, president and chief executive officer of Siam Cement Group, said the company would keep the price of cement unchanged in accordance with the government’s price controls. However, the price will have to be increased eventually because of rising petroleum prices in the global market.
Kan said the company would raise its revenue target this quarter as it foresaw stronger growth. SCG previ?ously projected revenue of Bt400 bil?lion this year, up from Bt368 billion in 2011.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Ministry will next week ask for the Cabinet’s approval to put one-dish food items on the price-control list in its effort to curb the cost of living.
Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyaphirom said that initially the ministry would control the retail prices of fast food in food courts. It will also move on controlling rental fees and profit margins of modern traders and food retailers to ensure fair deals for consumers.
